Read: Hebrews 12:18-29
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking . . . for our God is a consuming fire. (vv. 25, 29)
His smile beamed. His bright blue eyes twinkled both mischief and sweetness. After poring through hundreds of photos and profiles of children in need of a home, this particular 10-year-old caught our attention, all four of us. Over the prayerful course of the following week, we just knew—this boy was the one. Slowly and simultaneously the reality of what we were doing also began to hit us. Anxiety-provoking questions now demanded our attention. What would it look like to demonstrate commitment to a child who has only known rejection? What would it mean to have someone new living inside our house? Our other children were only 10 and 11 years old. What about the impact on them? What if . . . ? What about . . . ? And so ran the litany of our challenges and fears.
Would any of us really want to hug a God who is also a roaring lion, a blinding light, or an all-consuming fire? And yet God was speaking to us, this same God who gave us his one-and-only child. When we answer God’s call, it might not seem like the safe, logical, or comfortable thing to do, but if God could send his Son into our temporal, sin-filled world, shouldn’t we take this hurting boy into ours?
Knowing the potential consequences, as a family, we made the scary decision to love. —Tammy DeRuyter
As you pray, ask God how he might be challenging you to step out of your comfort zone and into missional action.
About the Author
Tammy DeRuyter is a former stockbroker turned student of theology and history. She holds master’s degrees in both from Fuller Theological Seminary and Central Michigan University. Married for more than 25 years to Michael, an ordained RCA pastor, they have three emerging, young adult children ages 20, 21, and 22—the youngest of whom was adopted at 11.
